TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
LIST OF TABLE
LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER ONE
1.1
INTRODUCTION
1.2
BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
1.3
STATEMENT
OF THE STUDY
1.4
RESEARCH
QUESTIONT
1.5
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
1.7
STATEMENT
OF THE HYPOTHESIS
1.8
JUSTIFICATION
OF THE STUDY
1.9
SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
1.10
DEFINITION
OF TERMS
CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
INTRODUCTION
2.2 THEORETICAL
FRAME WORK
2.3
THE MARITIME INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA
2.4
NIGERIAN MARITIME CABOTAGE
2.5 THE ROLE
OF THE NIGERIAN CUSTOMS SERVICE
2.6 INTEGRITY
IN THE NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE
2.7 THE
EVOLUTION OF NIGERIAN SEAPORTS
CHAPTER THREE
3.1
INTRODUCTION
3.2
AREA OF STUDY
3.3
RESEARCH DESIGN
3.4
POPULATION OF STUDY
3.5
SAMPLE SIZE
3.6
SAMPLE/SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
3.7
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION
3.8
VALIDATION OF THE INSTRUMENT
3.9
ADMINISTATION OF THE STUDY
3.10
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
3.11
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER FOUR –DATA, ANALYSIS, FINDINGS
AND DISCUSSION
4.1
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.2
RESEARCH FINDINGS
4.3
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
CHAPTER FIVE- SUMMARY, CONCLUTION,
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.2 CONCLUTION
5.3
RECOMMENDATION
5.4
PROPOSAL FOR FUTHER STUDIES
REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
This study was on the study of maritime fraud and
its effect on competitiveness of Nigerian ports. This study was guided by the
following objectives; to evaluate if marketing research can be used as a
measure of development of a firm, to evaluate if marketing research can survive
a firm economically, to determine the extent to which marketing research can be
used in satisfying customers. The study employed the descriptive and
explanatory design; questionnaires in addition to library research were applied
in order to collect data. Primary and secondary data sources were used and data
was analyzed using the correlation statistical tool at 5% level of significance
which was presented in frequency tables and percentage. The respondents under
the study were 50 employees of Nigerian port authority Lagos branch.
The study findings revealed that there is a negative
significant relationship between maritime fraud and Nigerian port
competitiveness; based on the findings from the study, the Nigerian government
and indeed the Nigerian port authority should strive to ensure that maritime
fraud is a thing of the past.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Despite the efforts of the government of Nigeria
in fighting corruption in all sector, several unwholesome activities is still
going on in the maritime sector most importantly by the shipping agencies and
terminal operators, under the watchful eyes of government agencies, conniving
to slam fictitious charges on importers and agents in what has been described
in the maritime domain as a ceaseless economic rape. The product of this
organized graft, which often runs into several billions of naira annually has
continued to swell the volume of the capital flight the country suffers yearly.
Following this scheme, used vehicles, clothing, food items and other goods are
now cheaper to buy in Cotonou, Lome and Ghana markets, than when purchased in
Nigeria (Thisday, 2015).
The
sour side of is anomaly is that importers and clearing agents, in their battle
to survive and grow in business, later pass the prohibitive charges to the
consumers who now pay far more for the goods than necessary.
According
to previous findings, the terminal operators, shipping lines and shipping
agents have taken advantage of the largely unregulated maritime industry in
Nigeria to hike charges like demurrage, and container deposit, among others,
which are at variance with what obtains in neighboring West African ports. A
full analysis of shipping charges conducted in three African countries –
Nigeria, Ghana and Benin Republic by a maritime industry medium, “Shipping
Position,” shows that port charges in Nigerian remain the highest in the ECOWAS
region. Experts have, however, attributed the high charges to the unwholesome
practices among shipping companies operating at Nigerian ports. Again while it
takes few days to get the container deposit refund in other ports once the
empty container is returned, it may take up to three months in Nigeria because
the terminal operators allegedly delay receiving it in order to build up
demurrage that may eat up the deposit. Other charges not collected in other
countries but obtainable in Nigeria include MOWCA levy and stamp duty (Tancott,
2015).
Importers
are also perplexed that contrary to what is obtainable in other West African
countries’ ports, Nigeria only offers three days free of progressive storage
charge while Benin, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire offer seven days free of
progressive storage charges. Maritime experts have argued that the development
was threatening the nation’s sea hub status as Cotonou, Lome and Accra ports
are snatching cargoes from Nigeria. It is feared that the partial cargo drought
often experienced in the country, is attributable to this development as some
shipping companies prefer to call at other West African ports where they enjoy
huge incentives, especially reduced charges are largely the outcome of such
practices (Tancott, 2015). The soaring frequency of smuggling is because some
importers may not make profit after paying all charges at the ports.
Other
stakeholders like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration
Service, Quarantine Service, Port Health and the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) who are also part of the import chain
also contribute to the delay in carrying out clearing duties and corruption at
the nation’s ports. All these have made business very difficult and affected
competiveness of the maritime sector in Nigeria.
Apapa
in Lagos State, Nigeria contains a number of ports and terminals operated by
the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), including the major port of Lagos State and
Lagos Port Complex (LPC). The region of Apapa lies near the mouth of Lagos
lagoon, and contains ports and terminals for various commodities such as
containers and bulk cargo, houses, offices and a small old disused railway
station (Apapa North). It is the site of a major container terminal which was
owned and operated by the Federal Government of Nigeria until March 2005, and
now is operated by the Danish firm A. P. Moller-Maersk Group (Wikipedia, 2016).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Ports play a key role in the Nigeria
economy and development, as nearly 75% of the trade between the Nigeria and the
rest of the world is handled in ports. Thus, the importance of ensuring
efficiency in ports is related to the ability of the country to be competitive
at international level. Unfortunately corruption and extortion by the shipping
agencies, terminal operators and the government officials has continued to
frustrate importers leading to price hike of commodities, encouraged smuggling
and the competiveness of Nigerian port as many importing prefer to patronize
other ports in the neighboring West African countries. However, the researcher
is examining the level of fraud in the maritime sector to ascertain its effect
on competiveness of Nigerian port.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the level of maritime fraud in the Nigerian ports.
2. To
examine the effect of maritime fraud on the competiveness of Nigerian port.
3. To
identify how the maritime fraud can be combated.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the level of maritime fraud in the Nigerian ports?
2. What
is the effect of maritime fraud on the competiveness of Nigerian port?
3. How
can the maritime fraud can be combated?
1.5 HYPOTHESIS
HO: There is no significant
relationship between maritime fraud and competiveness of Nigeria Port
HA: There is significant relationship
between maritime fraud and competiveness of Nigeria Port
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will enlighten the government of Nigeria and the general
public on the spate of corruption going on in the maritime sector and how it
affects the competiveness of the Nigeria port. It will also educate on
approaches to combat the menace of corruption in the maritime sector.
2. This
research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the
effect of personality trait on student’s academic performance, thereby
constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study will cover the level of fraud being
carried out in the Nigerian maritime sector and how it affects the
competitiveness of the Nigerian Ports.
LIMITATION OF STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
and interview).
Time
constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with
other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for
the research work.